Duncan Chessell is the first South Australian to have reached the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak at 8848m, and he did so on 23 May 2001.
The tradition of Princes and Saints men achieving together, as Correll and Madigan did with Old Blues on Mawson’s expedition, continued on the Everest expedition with Chessell being accompanied by Mark Auricht. Sadly, Chessell’s success was overshadowed by the death of Auricht during the ascent of the mountain.
In his outstanding achievement, Duncan Chessell joins the elite group of climbers who have reached the summit of Mt Everest since Sir Edmund Hillary’s pioneering climb in 1953.